Headteacher's Blog

Friday 22nd July 2016

The last day of term is upon us and we have enjoyed the late arrival of the English summer with some very sticky days this week. I was very glad that the breeze returned to cool Year 7 on their sponsored walk of the Gordano Round.

This has been a big year for the school. I’m not going to rehearse again all the achievements that we have had but parents will be aware that our students have had success on the sports field, in the arts and in many other areas. We have also taken some important decisions about our future strategic direction.

Our consultation on Year 7 intake numbers yielded 73 positive written responses and no voices against. So, subject to the permission of the Regional Schools Commissioner, Gordano will be a little bit bigger in future years.

We have also partnered with schools in the town to set up a multi-academy trust which will launch on 1st September as the Lighthouse Schools Partnership.

Lastly, our discussions with North Somerset Council have borne fruit and we will be commencing on a building project in January to improve our facilities once again. It has been a good year.

I always use my last blog and newsletter of the year to say a few thank yous. This year I really want to highlight the contribution to the school made by Sophie Francis, our Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning, who is joining Wellsway School next year as Vice Principal. Mrs Francis has made a huge and positive impact on our ethos and practices over her career at the school. I wish her every success at Wellsway. I must also thank our Chair of Governors, Adele Haysom, who has worked so hard with Governors across Portishead and Portbury in setting up the Lighthouse Schools Partnership. She is a real asset to our school and school governance across the county. I am very glad that she will also be one of the founding trustees for LSP.

We are all looking forward to a few weeks holiday. Thank you for your support of our school this year and very best wishes for a happy few weeks with your children. We’ll be ready for them again on September 5th!